Ugh.

I feel misanthropic and hate a lot of people right now. I would like to write about it, but a) it's kind of late, and b) I think that I would have to censor myself.

It looks like I picked a good time to get the hell out of Boston, though.

Comps, BU Style

Dear Rachel:

I am very pleased to inform you that you have passed the comprehensive examination, which serves as Part 1 of the PhD qualifying examination. The second half of the PhD qualifying examination is an oral exam based on a research project directed by one of the Astronomy faculty. You should complete the oral exam within about one year from now.

Congratulations on your acheivement, and best wishes for your continued progress toward the PhD degree.

Yours sincerely,
Alan P. Marscher
Professor of Astronomy

Suck it, Irvine.

Conversations I Have With My Parents

Yesterday, I had the following phone conversation with my Dad:

Me: Idle chatter about Mother's Day.
My Dad: Oh, by the way, your grandmother is in the hospital.
Me: Wait, what? Is she ok?
My Dad: She's fine; she'll probably lose a toe.
Me: The whole toe?
My Dad: Maybe just part of it.
Me: ...

Conversations of this type (important information casually dropped into conversation) are fairly common. Here are a few more examples.

This is from when I was in elementary school, or possibly middle school. You can see they go far back.

Me: Hi, Daddy.
My Dad: Hi, Rachel.
Me: Idle Chatter.
Me: When are you coming home?
My Dad: I'm in Denver for the weekend; I'm not coming home.
Me:...

A few from college.

Me: Hello?
My Mom: Hi, Rachel. I just wanted to tell you that your dad had skin cancer removed from his nose just now. He's fine.
Me: ...

Me: Hello?
My Dad: Hi, Rachel. I just called to see how you are.
Me: I'm fine. What are you doing right now?
My Dad: Standing on the side of the road, waiting for the tow truck.
Me: What happened to your car?
My Dad: It got totaled. I'm fine.
Me: ...

Weather

According to the media, the east coast is experience "Snowpocalypse." Again. Some more. I'm not sure how many snowpocalypses an area can have. This is outrageous, and not just because the weather sucks and it's cold, snowy, rainy, icy, slushy, and just generally miserable, all at the same time. Having spent 25+ years in Southern California, I have heard all manners of commentary on the weather. Most of these comments come from people that have not grown up with gorgeous weather, and thus are just not used to it. Comments range from, "There are no seasons" to "It's too hot all the time." Someone once said, "The sky doesn't have enough clouds here." It was September. Many people also comment on how Californians lack drainage or the ability to drive in the rain, and that when it rains they act like the world is coming to an end. At least we don't name our storm systems, though. It's very true that it doesn't rain that much. That's because it's a chaparral, which is the second-driest ecosystem after desert. So rain is rare, and when we do get giant storm systems, things are a little harried. However, this is nothing compared to the hell-hole that is the east coast during stormy weather. Despite New Englanders alleged love of "seasons," winter seems to catch them off guard. I almost didn't get make my flight home because traffic came to a standstill due to a mild dusting of snow. It seemed like everyone was confused by the white stuff falling from the sky. Not that Boston drivers are that great to begin with, but the snow exacerbates their inability to drive. This surprise and despair is continuing well into the winter, with every new storm met with comments about how the east coast is being pounded by winter weather again, and will it ever end? That's the thing about winter. It's cold and snowy, and generally lasts from December to March. If you complain about lack of seasons in one place, you forfeit your right to complain about the presence of seasons in another place. While I understand that this winter is worse than usual, winter itself is not really a surprise. If you want sunshine, move to California.